So.. i may be getting a chance to make some money recording songs from live gigs of local acts for demos.... mostly one or two guitar, one or two vocalists, the odd cahon.. so..say 6-8 inputs max. i would be taking from the ch sends off the mixer and run one mic for ambient room noise.
 
Since i am not about to rip apart my studio to drag out the motu 828 mkII hybrid..i have two choices, 
 
a) use my laptop and get (say) a ua1010 octacapture.. and record direct into sonar.
+ it goes straight into sonar
- who know how fiddly a time i may have..it *should* be ok
- more expensive
 
or
 
b) use a multi track recorder like the tascam dp24..which can record 8 channels.. 
+ ease and simplicity.. low risk of problems, records wav to sd card.
- need to import into sonar back at the ranch.
- limited capability if i wish to muck about while there.
 
any thoughts?..
 
 

McQ has a lappy he may sell you.
 
I keed I keed.
 
OK, since I have an ADK lappy DAW that is powered enough to plug my RME into (which has four mic pre-amp channels). That is what I'd use if it were me. Of course my RME also has 8 line level ins so I'd be covered all the way around.
 
Actually McQ says he lugs around a desktop these days for remote recording. He's a brave one.

I think for ease of setup, the Tascam would be the way to go. You wouldn't have to worry about computer glitches either. Of course, those dedicated workstations aren't above screwing up either, but I think I would feel a bit more secure with it.

I do lug around one of my StudioCats. I like the fact that I know it is going to work.
 
Not because my recent laptops don't have the "horsepower" but because they don't run smooth. I tried all the tweaks but the DPC spikes are frequent and rather large.
 
If I don't need more than 6 channels I take a Tascam DR-680. It's reliable, it sounds OK and it is small.
 

 
When the music is going to be good I take a John Hardy 4 channel preamp and maybe something else from my rack.
 
best regards,
mike

I've used my old cheapo mess of a laptop for that kind of stuff...
 
and performing live...
 
now I have a Macbook and would do the same...
 
No objections to that. Just recording some audio tracks should be safe enough. In my experience, messing about with a hardware recorder is more hassle than it's worth. YMMV of course.
 
And I would use a stereo pair for the ambience
 
Good luck whatever you choose.

"messing about with a hardware recorder is more hassle than it's worth."
 
I switch the power on.
 
I hit the red button.
 
It is actually quite relaxing.

mike_mccue
 I switch the power on. I hit the red button. It is actually quite relaxing.

+1!!!

Ah - LOL - true dat fellas! I was thinking of the transfering of the audio
 
 
But like I said, IMO and so forth, YMMV and many other nice abbreviations.
 
My point was, if you have the laptop, why not give it a chance

hmm..
 
I was thinking of my AT2035 LDC cardioid out in front of the act, predominantly for applause and some space/ambience. not ideal I know, but better than nothing.
 
The only pair of mics I have are Samson R11 dynamic mics... these I could put on a mic stand at 90 degrees to each other...but would this be good enough?..  
 

ProjectM
 
And I would use a stereo pair for the ambience

I see a lot of people using just normal SM57s for ambiemce. I suppose everything would do, really. My favorite has always been two Røde NT5s or the NT4 and hard pan the ambience tracks left and right. It just makes it sound better and you can easily mix it in while keeping the stereofield. Just experiment and see what works if you have enough inputs.
 
If using separate microphones I usually set them up on separate mic stands and put them to each side of the venue, usually in line with the FOH. That way you capture both the PA left and right as well as the audience, remove what you don't want/need.
 
If using the NT4 or something like the Zoom H4n, I put it infront of the FOH. For some reason, I like it like that. If I have 4 inputs to use with for ambience, I put the final two in front of the stage, facing the audience to get more up close and personal, but I've never prioritized that.
 
But the key is experimenting and see how sound and equipment behaves in different venues. Small venues and loud volume is usually harder to capture nicely.